Implementing Your Plan

After developing your survival plan, purchase and assemble the gear you need to implement it. When a hurricane is looming, stores will run out of merchandise quickly.

Leave Early

Waiting until a storm's imminent arrival is inviting disaster. A warning is issued when sustained winds exceeding 64-knots are expected within 24 hours. Hurricane-proofing your house or evacuating will take precedence over boat safety. Winds may rise quickly. Securing a boat in 35-knot winds is extremely difficult; impossible in 45-knot winds.

Start moving as soon as you feel a hurricane watch is probable. Don't rely on emergency services for assistance. Many harbor and marine patrols remove their vessels from the water or sequester them prior to the onset of storm and hurricane-force winds.